At the height of a heat wave, Nina arrives at her sister's house in the country to assist after the sister, Isabel, has given birth. From the first pages, the reader knows something tragic happens, but it's not entirely clear what. The heat and isolation of the house make for a claustrophobic setting, and Dunmore creates an unsettling atmosphere almost from the first. The reader slowly learns more about these two sisters and their relationship, with some flashbacks to their childhood. But Nina is an unreliable narrator and as time goes on, the narrative becomes even more disturbing and unsettled.

This was a great novel - a bit Gothic, gorgeously written, and with a compelling pace. I couldn't wait to find out what would happen.

4.25 stars ( )

I have read a few of Dunmore's novels but nothing rivals the first one, I read of hers- The Siege, which was amazing. I wanted to try another one and I had Talking to the Dead on shelf. This one is about 2 sisters. The youngest is visiting the eldest, just after the latter has her first baby. They are both seriously haunted by the death of their infant brother. This is a messy family tale, with many thorny issues peppered about. It is not always a pleasant read but what saves it, is Dunmore's strong, lyrical prose. I was saddened to hear that Dunmore died in 2017, at 64. ( )

This novel is set in the heat of an unusual English summer. Isabel has had a baby and her sister Nina is staying to help her sister but, of course, nothing is that simple and the novel unravels the relationship between Nina and Isabel and the relationship of Isabel and her husband Richard. Helen Dunmore builds up the tension with the heat and it is clear that something dramatic is going to happen, it is just a matter of what that will be. An engaging enough read. ( )

Fiona Griffiths is an interesting character, and I liked the workaday office atmosphere created in the story too. I just found her illness a little too far fetched... Or rather, that someone with it would become a high functioning brilliant detective. Would be 3.5 stars. ( )

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